North, South, East, West
by Dreaming-Of-A-Nightmare
Summary: North, south, east, west; no matter the place, keep a smile on your face, and remember who loves you best. .:. One night, Al wakes from a memory sort of dream, and needs cheering up. Ed comes up with a nostalgic idea how. .:. post-CoS, hinted Elricest.


**A/N: I blame my re-reading of the silly teen novel, 'If We Kissed.' In it, there was some pretty cute stuff, one idea of which I'm borrowing. ;D**

**Warnings: adorable flashback, hints of Elricest, and cuteness overload. :)**

**Takes place, like so many of my FMA oneshots, some time after the CoS movie.**

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"_Goodnight, boys. Have sweet dreams," Trisha Elric murmured softly as she stepped into their room. She went to little Alphonse's bed first, bending down and tucking him into the covers._

_Her youngest son snuggled into the warmth of the cocooned sheets. "Mommy!" Al chirped, "Can I has a 'Round the World Kiss?"_

"_Of course you can, sweetheart," the brunette woman cooed. She leant down and left a peck on his forehead. "North," she whispered. She moved down to her son's chin. "South," she smiled around another feather-light kiss. "East," she continued as she kissed his left cheek, and then: "West," as she planted one on his right. "No matter the place, keep a smile on your face, and remember who loves you best."_

"_Mommy does," Al giggled, giving the practiced response. He shut his eyes. Yawning, he easily began to doze, the shores of sleep beckoning to him. But he heard the following scene, a smile coming to his face._

"_Do you want an Around The World Kiss too, Edward?" Trisha asked as she looked across the small bedroom at her eldest son. _

_The five-year-old harrumphed. "What d' I need a stupid kissy poem for? I can get to sleep all by myself."_

_The brunette smiled. She came over to his bed and put her fists on her hips, pretending to pout. "So you're a big boy now, huh? You don't need your mommy's kisses any more?"_

"_Nope," Ed said, sounding prideful. "So dun even bother. 'Night, Mom."_

_She laughed. "But I don't think one little kiss will hurt," she said, and quickly bent down to lay a small, soft kiss on his forehead, near his right eye. He flushed and shooed her away, saying, 'Moooom!' but she simply grinned. "Goodnight, sweetie. I love you."_

_Ed looked away, but mumbled as he crossed his arms, "Humph. Love you, too."_

_And with that, Trisha Elric was satisfied, and she proceeded to leave the room._

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Alphonse pops up into sitting position, the memory-based dream of pre-sleep jarring him awake. It makes him want to cry; he used to love it when his mother did that for him, and now that he's in another world so far from home and she's been gone for so long, it almost makes Alphonse wish that he could have that childish kiss goodnight one last time.

_"North, south, east, west;  
"No matter the place,  
"Keep a smile on your face,_  
_"And remember who loves you best,"_ the sandy blond half-murmurs, half-sings to himself, tears stinging the back of his eyes.

In the bed across from him, Edward stirs with a snort. "Hmm? You say something, Al?" the older brother asks sleepily, stifling the urge to yawn.

Al shakes his head, even though his brother can't see it in the darkness of the night, illuminated only by the dim moonlight streaming in through the window. "Ah, it's nothing. Go back to sleep, Brother."

To himself, Ed frowns. He wipes his eyes to wake himself up more, and shoves himself forward into a somewhat-sitting position. Stretching his automail arm, he glances over at the other bed. "It doesn't sound like 'nothing;' to me, you sound a little upset. Is something wrong?"

Alphonse sighs, rolling over onto his side, facing away from his older sibling. The golden blond always could see through his guises. "It's just… I remembered something, and it made me sad." He swallows. "I miss her."

"Her?" Edward says, his voice turning cold. He stares down at his hands. "You mean Mom." It isn't a question.

Al nods to himself. "Yeah. Do you remember how she used to say goodnight to us when we were really young? She would give us –"

"An 'Around the World Kiss,'" Ed finishes, his tone soft and whispery. "Yeah, I remember. I also remember refusing them after I turned five, because I was going through my stubborn phase." He shakes his head at himself. "I wish I hadn't been so stupid; I would have had more memories of her affection if I hadn't been so stubborn." He sighs. Looking back at his younger brother, an odd idea occurs to him. Smiling suddenly, the blond climbs out of bed and moves to sit on the edge of Alphonse's.

The younger male peers over his shoulder, his brows furrowed and his greyish-gold eyes questioning. "Brother…? What –"

"I could give you one. It won't be the same as Mom's, but it might cheer you up," Edward offers, unusually kind-hearted. His expression is gentle, and for a moment, Alphonse nearly complies.

But instead, he shakes his head, turning back to facing the wall to hide a growing blush. "Um… no, thanks. It's okay. You don't have to."

"But I want to," Edward says quietly, his tone unrecognizable.

Al sends him a look, and then turns back to the wall again. He says nothing. He isn't sure what to say, actually; part of him wishes to have that contact again, and then part of him wonders if it would be weird since Ed is his brother and _not _his mother. But then again… family is family, right?

"Would it be weird?" Ed asks suddenly, his question echoing Alphonse's thoughts.

Al shakes his head, burrowing further into his pillow. "No…" he mumbles, muffled by the cotton, "But…"

"Let me try," Ed pushes. He doesn't like seeing his little brother sad like this.

Al nervously grins, laughter bubbling up. "But aren't we a little old for this? You're nineteen, and I'm –"

"Fourteen, in body," Edward nods, agreeing. "It's true. But it'll make you feel better, I think."

Alphonse sighs, knowing that his brother has a point. Timidly, he rolls over onto his back and looks up expectantly at his older sibling. "Well, okay, then. Just this once."

Ed smirks. "You have to ask, else I won't do it."

Al rolls his eyes, but smiles nonetheless. Overdramatically, he recites, "Will you please give me an Around the World Kiss, Ed? Pretty please?"

Chuckling, the older blond leans down, one hand supporting his weight near Al's head, the other lightly touching the younger teen's jaw. "How can I refuse?"

Al closes his eyes, waiting to feel those petal-soft lips. He waits to feel what he remembers; his mother's gentle, loving care in the form of an angel's kiss, as light and graceful as a swan. He awaits the feeling of plump, rosy lips, his mother's lips.

But, of course, those lips and affections don't come. Because this isn't his mother that Al is with; it's his brother.

So what does come are hesitant, smooth, firm lips that are warm and heavier than memory. Al feels his face grow hot as those lips, feeling much like golden sunflower petals, tentatively brush his forehead before landing solidly there, and lingering for a millisecond.

"North," comes Edward's voice, low and calm and velvety.

Al can feel his brother's weight shift, and the younger nearly holds his breath as his brother's nose grazes his and his brother's lips find his chin, brushing past and landing again, but this time lingering a hair longer than before.

"South."

As Ed moves over to Alphonse's left cheek, the younger can feel his own lower lip quiver ever so slightly. Then, another kiss is laid on his skin, his older sibling's breath tickling his ear.

"East," Edward murmurs.

Al's face is extremely warm now, and he almost wants Edward to stop. But as their noses brush again and Edward gives the honey blond the final kiss, Al doesn't regret choosing to agree to this.

"West."

Al peeks one eye open. He stares at Edward's face, which is thoughtful and inviting.

"No matter the place, I want a smile on your face, and I want you to know who's left: the person who loves you best," the former state alchemist whispers, altering the poem to suit how he feels.

Alphonse opens his mouth to say something, any sort of reply will do, but one doesn't seem to want to make itself known, so the younger simply blushes further, staring.

"Goodnight, brother-mine," Ed says with a small smile, and then abruptly returns to his own bed, leaving Al's feeling quite cold.


End file.
